News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
After years of starts and stops, a traffic plan to take Sisters through the next 20 years of development is up before the Sisters City Council for approval.
The council held a public hearing on the Transportation System Plan (TSP) last Thursday and will continue it on January 14.
The centerpiece of the $54 million plan is an alternative route using Locust Street and Barclay Drive to route through traffic away from the downtown core and through the industrial park. The plan calls for $41 million in road improvements that can be phased in over a period of years to raise the capacity of the route to handle that kind of traffic.
The committee that developed the plan deemed the alternate route the most effective and least expensive option to relieve traffic in downtown Sisters - which is extremely heavy during the summer.
"I said from day one that we need a seasonal solution for a seasonal problem," said Jean Wells-Keenan, who has served on various transportation committees that have taken on the issue since 1975.
The plan calls for either signals or roundabouts at two intersections at either end of town: Barclay Drive/Highway 20 and Locust Street/Highway 20. The committee recommends further investigation into the feasibility of roundabouts.
Carey Tosello pushed for the council to strengthen the language to indicate that roundabouts are the preferred solution.
"Roundabouts are demonstrably safer," he said. "I've never heard of a fatality at a roundabout."
Tosello also argues that roundabouts are a more aesthetically appealing gateway into Sisters and protect the village character of the town.
The plan deals with more than vehicle traffic.
It calls for bike lanes on Hood Avenue and Main Avenue and back-in diagonal parking to reduce the chances of bike/vehicle collisions. Pedestrian amenities such as widened sidewalks on Cascade Avenue are included.
Making Sisters more pedestrian-friendly is viewed as a vital element of the plan.
"The economics of downtown are really dependent on people being able to move around," Keenan said.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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